WHY: Metcalf-Lindenburger, Whitman Class of 1997, recently served as a mission specialist on the NASA shuttle flight in April 2010. At Baccalaureate (following the news conference), Metcalf-Lindenburger will give a speech titled “Growing up in a wheat field.” She'll focus on “how my individual life was influenced by a small town in Washington State, and where the core values I learned from my parents and from Whitman have taken me since graduation.”

WHAT: She will respond to media questions about her experiences as an astronaut and how her Whitman education, including her bachelor’s degree in geology, prepared her for what came next.

BACKGROUND: http://www.whitman.edu/content/news/2010bacspeaker

EVENTS: The news conference, Baccalaureate and Commencement are open to media; they are not open to the public.

MORE: At Commencement, Sunday, May 23, 11 a.m., Metcalf-Lindenburger will receive Whitman’s Civis Magnopere Laudanda Award. The name of the award translates from Latin to “Citizens Worthy of Highest Praise.” It recognizes U.S. citizens for making advances in science, education, medicine, public service or human welfare that benefit the larger societal or global good.